Wonders of the world: 5 spectacular geothermal sites: Current Woman The MAG

United States: Yellowstone, spectacular geysers

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It concentrates the greatest number of geothermal phenomena per square kilometer of the globe. Covering almost 9,000 km², the famous park of the American West brings together more than 500 geysers, thousands of fumaroles and hot springs. And for good reason, Yellowstone sits above a still active "supervolcano". The undisputed star of this Hollywood-worthy blockbuster is no young first. It's Old Faithful, a geyser that, as its name suggests, sprays sprays some 30 meters high, every 80 minutes on average. Another emblematic figure: the Grand Prismatic Spring (photo), a circular rainbow lake.

In Turkey, a source of lagoon-blue cotton

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Ice cream in Turkey? It was actually the water from 17 hot springs that, tumbling down the rock at a high temperature, sculpted the pristine basins of the Pamukkale site. In the valley of the Meander river, in the south-west of the country, the sources saturated with mineral salts and carbon dioxide have created what geologists call a tufa. More specifically, it is carbon dioxide which, when released into the air, precipitates calcium carbonate, the deposits of which form a sort of white sheath on the hills. Frozen waterfalls? Saltworks? The eye is easily fooled by this unusual landscape. He would even have amazed Queen Cleopatra, who came to enjoy the benefits of the swimming pool located in the neighboring spa town of Hierapolis.

In Iceland, no smoke without fire in Hverir

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Iceland is a paradise for geologists and volcanologists. But, for tourists, it gives an idea of ​​what the gates of hell might look like. Hverir, a lunar setting where fumaroles dominate the boiling mud pots, deploys a stunning palette of colors. Not to mention the smell of sulfur, which adds a note of mystery conducive to stories that thrill. In reality, the explanation is pure physics: when underground water meets minerals and volcanic gas at a temperature close to 100 degrees, it comes out and crystallizes into shards of bright yellow sulfur. Which makes this site one of the island's premier attractions.

In Kenya, all the lives of Lake Magadi

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The Great Rift Valley, a gigantic East African tectonic fault, now makes Kenya the continental leader in geothermal energy. It is also thanks to her that the country is enamelled with many alkaline lakes from which it has exploited the soda crystals. In particular Lake Magadi, two hours from the capital, Nairobi, which the general public has discovered thanks to the photos of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, The earth from the sky. Formerly, its water was soft. Then hot springs showered it with sodium carbonate, giving it extravagant hues. Today, the area is an ornithological refuge, especially for the flamingos who love the algae that has grown there. And also a curiosity for travelers.

In New Zealand, the fine bubbles of the Maoris

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On the North Island of New Zealand stands a kingdom born of a caldera, a vast disc sagging in an empty magma chamber. Sounds, smells, the spectacle of fumaroles takes place in the very streets of the city of Rotorua. Not far from there, the site of Wai-O-Tapu (“sacred water” in Maori) is the “geothermal destination” par excellence, because of its Champagne Pool, a steaming basin as sparkling as the famous wine, but at 75 ° VS ! We then play to decipher the color code of its ores, by detecting the yellow of sulfur, the white of silica, the green of arsenic … And we rush to see Lady Knox's geyser, which causes a sensation every day at 10:15 am sharp!

Article published in the issue Femme Actuelle Jeux Voyages n ° 44 December-January 2021

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